How can I reuse or recycle old glass blocks/glass bricks?

We’ve had an email from Whitney, asking about reuse/recycling ideas for glass blocks (or glass bricks, as they’re also known):

We just bought a house and making a lot of renovations. We removed some glass blocks from an old bathroom window and I want to reuse them for something. I love glass blocks and since they didn’t get broken in the renovation process I’d love to do something with them. I’d love to be able to drill holes in them and place lights for outdoor use, but don’t know how to do it. I was also thinking about just placing them around the garden, but am looking for some more innovative ideas.

I love the idea of using them in the garden – for bed/path edging for example, or if you have a lot of them, as a privacy screen/divider. I imagine in time the edge seals might become damaged and bugs or greenery may creep inside but that could look pretty cool too :)

More creatively, I’ve seen them used effectively as the “legs” on simple tables – panels of glass blocks at each end of the table top, though I’m not sure how it was all fixed together – any ideas?

Any other practical or creative suggestions for using them either inside or outside of the house?

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31 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle old glass blocks/glass bricks?”

If you can drill holes in the middle area (where the two halves join) perhaps you could fill them with different coloured sand for a indoor or outdoor decor item. The seal the hole you drilled with a drop of silicone to prevent weed seeds entering.

If you have any cracked glass bricks you could use them as Christmas decorations by putting lights inside. You’ll probably find that the cracks will add more sparkle. To make them look a little more Christmasy you could put holly or tinsel round the bottom.

Clear glass is perfect light decoration. If you could stack them fountain with lights drapped on top or inside the drilled holes. Maybe some how have each one made into chaneliers..maybe drill a hole on all sides. Then have a strong metal or rope even hanging like a tear drop. They have glass paint you can shear the glass part all sorts of colors…its very pretty in the sunlight. Then comes night you could even put candles real or fake ones and sit them on top of cubes. Three in one deal…just make sure they can hang and wont fall. I am not sure if my ideas have helped. I have not ever had any of cubes, but seem like you could use them for a various things.

That’s a great idea! The glass blocks I saw at The Repurpose Project (Gainesville, FL,USA) recently have been burning a hole in my brain & now I know how to use them. I need to replace my old raised bed and this will work perfectly. Thank you for the inspiration :-)

This is not an especially decorative idea, but I have always wanted to reuse glass blocks to make the south edge of a cold frame/mini greenhouse. At my latitude, 47 degrees, a wooden edge on the south side of a cold frame casts a shadow that reduces the useable space in the frame in spring and fall. The seedlings don’t get enough light in about the south third of the box. I would line up the blocks to make the south edge or even the whole box if I had enough of them and top it with an old window.

I got one made up to look like a Christmas package last year from my sister-in-law. The glass cube is in 2 halves put together. She put a string of Christmas lights in it with the cord hanging out to plug in. She put pretty fabric ribbon around it with a matching bow. It looks very cool under the tree lighting up by the real packages.

If you wanted to decorate them you could stamp on them with a permanent ink like stazon and use glass paint to colour them – they would make great Christmas decorations with a candle or LED light behind it.

Being a successful ‘pavement recycler (really good items just thrown out, even clothes. These are washed/cleaned and then end up in a charity shop) I found a glass brick and find it invaluable as a door stop for the kitchen door leading to the garden in the summer, when the door needs to be left wide open. Heavy enough to withstand any wind. I have also taken home the innards of pedal bins which make good containers for recycled tins, plastics and paper; tall and slim enough to take up little space under a worktop.

You could make a decoration for holiday from them. You can put flowers in them or even lights for Christmas. You can put them in garden decoration, too. There are thousands of ways to use them. Greetings!

Good idea is to place Christmas lights inside of the glass block. The cracks will actually add more sparkle. If you want to add more to the decoration, add other decorations around the bottom outside of the glass block, such as holly or poinsettias. The idea works very well in small spaces, such as a bathroom or bedroom. It can be used outdoors as well, as long as you’re using lights made for outdoor use.

my son is renovater {sp] & i helped knocked down a glass divder wall . I kept some & i used then [ stacked at different angles ]in a corner in my bedoom with a beautiful lamp. I also used some under my dresser so i could store things behind them . Well those are acouple of things to add to all of the great ideas all of u took tme t

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